Bookworms

No week is complete without a trip to the library. We're not much for story times, but we love the atmosphere.

During my leave time with Michael and Louis, we have made this a part of our routine. Almost every Wednesday we give Aunt Shai a ride to her job at the library. Then we stay and explore.

Sssh. Don't tell Louis that not everyone has two librarian aunts who can't wait to dig through the stacks to find Lillian Hoban books no one has checked out in years. He just assumes this is how it works. And his little brother is starting to get the same idea.

They are both quite at home in the library. And they easily make their own fun.

Louis takes responsibility for maintaining the library's chess board. He tries not to be too frustrated that his little brother doesn't always share his vision for order.

The libraries we visit are such a source of entertainment--even before we reach the shelves.

And even though we go to the library at our prime time--mornings before 11 a.m.--we rarely seem to run into other children.

Or maybe we're just so busy doing our own thing that we don't notice anyone else is there.


We check out the goldfish--one of the only animals we've encountered that doesn't scare Michael or elicit a "boo" from him to try to scare them.


We send beads spinning down roller coasters.

We make a little (OK, more than a little sometimes) noise.

Sometimes we sit still.

Sometimes we try to see how fast Mama can run.

 

When we have time, we goof off in the children's reading area.

Eventually we focus on the main reason most people visit the library and settle down to hunt for good books.

We are so blessed to have two extraordinary sons. We're extra lucky that they both love to read. And we're all lucky to have two aunts who are librarians and always know the latest and greatest reads, as well as the classics.

Louis's preference for certain books and stories came through quickly when he joined our family, and so has Michael's. Both of them have favorite books they turn to again and again, but they also love to try new books.

 

Last week Louis turned 4--a belated blog for another day, I'm afraid--so before I return to work later this week, I thought we'd take care of something we have meant to do for a while. We went this morning to get Louis his very own library card.

Because we haven't visited Aunt Treasa's library as much as Aunt Shai's, we stopped there. Louis surprised me by showing me how to use a mouse attached to the library computer. His cousin Gregory must have taught him on their recent visit.

Then we signed Louis up as a full-fledged, card-carrying library reader. Aunt Treasa even presented him with a special protective case for his card.

He was so proud. I asked him to hold up his card and he did--taking it all very seriously.

It's a big deal, after all. Then I asked him to smile. And if you know Louis at all, you'll know he doesn't pose for pictures. And he doesn't smile on request.

But you must be thinking of 3-year-old Louis who didn't have a library card. This is 4-year-old card-carrying Louis.